The high vaccination rate is at the base of the optimism of the commerce, catering and tourism sectors. The optimism is palpable among professionals, but without abandoning caution in any case, since the ghost of the pandemic is still alive and the incidence figures of the coronavirus are growing in Spain. Vaccination appears as the great barrier that has to protect us from returning to situations of the past and the adoption of truly restrictive measures, such as those currently being applied in some European countries.
Thus, they are expected to multiply travels through the Spanish geography already during the bridge in early December. Among the preferred destinations are big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. Inland tourism will clearly benefit from the greater control of the current pandemic compared to what happened a year ago. It is also possible that many Spaniards begin to choose Travel abroad during the bridge and especially the holidays of Christmas and Kings. The accumulated desire to do tourism beyond our borders can drive the demand for this type of travel.
For its part, the arrival of tourists to our country continues to be the weak flank in the recovery, since many countries have adopted measures that restrict or hinder mobility. The lack of tourists also affects the commercial sector, which, however, trusts that the months of November and December, even more so if we include Reyes, will be a knock to progress towards the levels prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Black Friday –whose campaign has already started– is seen by the sector as the starting shot for a few weeks that are expected to be very good, to which the long long weekend in early December must in turn contribute.
In the commercial sector, shopping in stores or conventional stores coexists with ‘online’, which has experienced strong growth as a result of the measures applied during the coronavirus pandemic. We are in a transition stage marked by the increase in online shopping –which in Spain, however, remains well below countries such as Italy or Germany–, which in no way means that conventional commerce is going to be extinguished . Both are destined to coexist.
At this time, citizens acquire goods and services both through ‘online’ platforms and at physical points of sale, combining them according to their convenience. Internet shopping focus on large international platforms, such as Amazon, well ahead of small or medium-sized businesses or specialized stores.
In short, the next few weeks are expected to be very good for the commerce, catering and tourism sectors, even more so because, despite the increase in the incidence of covid in Spain, no restrictions are foreseen that affect mobility. There are reasons for optimism, as the situation is visibly improving, although not as much as some predicted. Tourism and consumption will be at levels clearly above last year, but still not recovering from before the pandemic.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com